The World in Black and White
by elvenarchress
Summary: What if Javert had kept a journal through his adventures in Les Mis? What would he have written? Epilogue
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Les Miserables belongs to Victor Hugo

AN: this is just my take on what Javert was thinking during some key points in the story... may be OOC at one point...

The World in Black and White

Winter of 1821, M-sur-M

My name is Monsieur Javert the Inspector assigned to patrol the town of M-sur-M. Upon the suggestion of Monsieur Madeleine the Mayor, I shall write down my thoughts and experiences within this journal. It is a pointless exercise; nevertheless he insisted

I am a man of the law, an upholder of justice, a protector of citizens from the dregs of society. It is my solemn duty to seek out malefactors and throw them into the dismal maws of the galleys where they belong. Nothing shall stand in my way.

And now, I believe I have uncovered a truly malicious soul, a criminal by the name of Jean Valjean. He was a convict imprisoned in the galleys of Toulon for nineteen years until his release some eight years ago. It was reported that he fell back into his heinous ways soon after he was granted his freedom and robbed not only a man of God, the bishop Bienvenu of D- but also a little Savoyard by the name of Petit Gervais. He is a crafty one; he has used his cunning to disguise himself as a most respected figure: the Mayor himself. Cloaking himself in good deeds, he has blinded nearly all around him to his true nature. All but myself, and I see it clearly now. Minor slips but I see where they all fit.

I have seen him before, wretched and grimy, in the galleys twenty years ago, and though he stands pristine among the citizenry, it is he; I recognize that form, that face, his skill as a marksman, the way he drags his foot; I have noticed the way he shields away from people and confrontations, his preference for solitude. And his terrible strength Only Jean Valjean could have lifted that cart while on his back.

He is undone now. I have found him out. Now longer shall his mask fool others; I shall rip it off him and present his true face to all.

He had suggested that I write my thoughts and I have; they shall bear testimony to my capture of Jean Valjean.

AN: think I should continue? Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Les Mis belongs to Victor Hugo

AN: This entry was "written" at the time Javert was returning from Coming from Arras to M-sur-M after denouncing Valjean to the prefect of Paris.

April of 1822

I have disgraced myself. Nay, not just myself, but also the law. I who alights without leniency upon those who dare sin have committed the gravest of transgressions. In anger, I arrogantly denounced Monsieur the Mayor, a man of the highest standing, to the prefect as the criminal Jean Valjean without a shred of evidence. I have been blind; I let my own fancy and imagination take hold of me. How stupid. How could I have mistaken such a respectable man for a convict? They were right to laugh at me.

This Champmatheiu is clearly Jean Valjean. I did not wish it to be so; to be found wrong, but this trip has proven it to be true without a doubt. He could not be otherwise. With my own eyes I have seen him; it is he. Even his fellow convicts know his face. A lowly vagabond still bearing the ragged appearance he wore in the galleys. It's disgusting. The only thing he's managed to do for himself was to change his name and not even intelligently at that. Using his mother's name, how predictable. How foolish. His trail was so easily read. And he still has the gall to profess that he is innocent?

We are approaching M-sur-M. Soon I must reveal my despicable act to Monsieur the Mayor that he may dismiss me; I am not fit to do my duty. It is only just. I am no better than imbecile, assuming myself to be someone else, someone better. I do not deserve forgiveness nor do I wish for kindness. The same standards that I have upheld for others must be used against me and I have erred. I must be punished. Such an act of insolence cannot be pardoned or forgotten. Now if only he would realize that…

AN: I gave Javert a bit of a inferiority complex... hopefully its not too off the mark. And in case anyone is wondering, Javert wrote the first entry as a way to mock his superior officer but this second one was a form apology for doubting monsieur Madeline. He writes the next few entries because his pride was injured by falling for Valjean's tricks. He wants to record how he will capture him so that later he can show the journal in Vajean's face and laugh in his face, and prove he had been right all along.

Review please!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer:Les Miserables belongs to Victor Hugo

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers...hope this doesn't displease people.

January of 1824, Gorbeau House Paris

That man is infuriating. Does he not know his place? A convict belongs in prison, yet he has the gall to run, to escape in order to terrorize the populace once more. That's how it was for _him_ and that's how it will be for Valjean. Who does he think he is to grasp for freedom, a privilege he threw away long ago?

He is cunning, oh yes. His disguised his escape almost beautifully; pretending to rescue someone in order to save his own wretched hide. People thought him dead but I know the truth; Jean Valjean could not die so easily. He lives. And I shall be the one to root out his evil once more. He shall not escape justice. I swear it. On my badge.

At first I saw no sign of him; he hides his tracks well, the bastard. But despite all his intelligence he's still so arrogant and that shall be his undoing. My eyes and ears abound even the most forsaken of places, searching the gutters and combing the winds for the slightest hint. At last, a whisper reached me, through a beggar in Saint Medard, about an old man poorly dressed yet very generous…

"The beggar who gives alms", you never learn do you, Valjean? You're leaving the same clues all over again. Do not taunt me! The old lady told me much about you and your 'new' life. That one look by the crumbling well was all I needed to confirm my suspicions; enjoy your last hours for the messenger I sent would have reached the prefecture by now. Soon the constables will arrive and you'll be back in Toulon. Till they come I shall maintain my vigil within your very abode; you've escaped once, never again!

I shall not rest until you are back in Toulon where your bones may rot and your soul left in the depths of hell where the devil may pour upon your filthy spirit the punishment that you so deserve.

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A/N: I don't know if Javert could/would swear but I figured pride was one of Javert's pillars and that was badly beaten when he found out Valjean got away. That could incite swearing. It's kinda short but I was afraid that if I made it longer it would sound repetitive.

People have told me that Javert is starting to sound one-sided so I tried to add a little more depth to his character in the first paragraph. Did anyone catch it? The "_him"_ that Javert refers to is his father who was also a convict (and whom I persume died in prison). I believe Javert cared about his parents and if anything wanted to believe they were being treated fairly so he personally ensures that all convicts get the same treatment as his father and mother. If others got better treatment that would mean that life/people were being unjust to his parents. Not something you want for people you care about. That's why Valjean infuriates him so; he was able to get away and make a better life for himself, something his parents were never able to do.

As always review please!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Les Mis belongs to Victor Hugo

Late January of 1832, prefecture of Paris

I have been on his trail for years but so far my search has turned up empty. It would appear he has sunk into the very shadows from which he came but I know this is not true. He is not dead; I will find him. He is here, in Paris.

Rumors of an old man giving gifts to the poor are rampant yet so scattered. He is in one place then another. I cannot pinpoint his lair from this erratic movement. Still, I shall not give up; he is mine.

However, I must not let myself get carried away; this world is filled with filth. He may be the worst of the lot but still the others cannot be overlooked. They're vagabonds who prey on the worthy citizens of Paris. They cannot be left alone to fester and to drag this country to their level. As an officer of the law I must uncover the holes in which they hide and expose them to the light of justice that they cower from. They've just been lucky enough to escape being sent to the galleys. That luck will end. They live, if you can call their pathetic existence as living, among dirt and garbage as filthy as their surroundings.

Just now I have apprehended a most despicable criminal; a man by the name of Thenardier. He has no shame, no honor and he dares to blame the respectable ones for his own miseries? Along with his wife and consorts he dared to lay a hand on a fine gentleman, to hold him hostage and blackmail him for money; that's all they care about. He will pay.

Yet, that old man… the one they took prisoner… he looked familiar. I was not able to see his face; he was in the shadows but still I have seen that form before. He disappeared by the time I had set about to write the report, why? The only way out was the window; what kind of person could possibly attempt such a risk? … No! It couldn't possibly be-

Valjean!

Review please!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Les Mis belongs to Victor Hugo

The 5th of June 1832, morning, Prefecture of Paris

My superior officers have tasked me to infiltrate the insurgents' camp at the Rue Saint Denis and to discover any information that may aid us in our fight to insure the people's peace and security. This shall not be an easy task; not all of them were born street trash.

This rabble's leaders are educated, the were the country's pride and hope,yet they have chosen incite the populace's ire and cause division and strife instead of unity and peace. How would this destabilization help the people? These men are mad. They cannot make it by the law so they seek to change it. How cowardly. Some of those young men were actually decent members of society, until they decided to turn their backs on it. A pity they did not choose to use their talents to aid the country, such a waste of youth and ability.

Though numerous criminals will be there I do not entertain the thought of catching him there. For so long he has eluded me; he would not be so foolish as to die in a hopeless cause.

I go.

A/N: very short...really sorry about that... please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Les Mis belongs to Victor Hugo

Eve of the 5th of June

I had him. After years of scouring the Parisian underworld I had finally caught my prey, the elusive Jean Valjean. He was in my power; even he knew and acknowledged his helplessness. Victory was mine at last.

I let him go. To have imprisoned him would have been…wrong. For the first time I have found the law to be in error; criminals should be encased in stone and steel for their transgressions but what is to be done when he that erred is righteous? I know of no answer.

He set me free when he could have killed me; as with that old farmer, he placed himself in danger for the sake of another. He hasn't changed. I see now that "Mr. Madeleine" was no lie; it was simply he under a different name.

He was like Valjean; He could not save himself so He saved another. I had thought His attempt at escape shameful and so I foiled it. I see now that that was His true intention: that I be seen as separate from Him and given a chance at a different life. That insurgent will live thanks to Valjean; I was able to gain a life beyond prison because of him, my father.

It is my duty as an officer of the law to capture the criminal Jean Valjean. He is a good man, undeserving of his sentence. There is only one solution to this quandary.

A job cannot be continued if the one to whom it is assigned is no more after all.

Reviews are greatly appreciated!

A/N: He's a lot more contemplative here... if he's OOC please tell me.


	7. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Les Mis belongs to Victor Hugo

12th of June

This is the prefect of Paris. It has come to my attention that this journal of my deceased subordinate has been left hanging, so to speak. Thus it follows that it is my duty as his superior to complete this matter and so doing, lay him to rest.

Inspector Javert had been assigned to spy on the insurgents at the Rue Saint Denis barricade by he was caught and sentenced to die. Miraculously he had not been killed, in fact his life was spared and him set free. This he had confessed to me after he had been released from the barricade.

His speech and form were as usual, stoic, when he reported but his eyes were strange; they seemed troubled. What could have caused their usual clarity to be dimmed, I do not know. That was unlike Javert but I knew better than to interrogate him. I let it be; he would not have said a thing even if I had asked. Shortly, he returned to his rounds.

That was the last time I saw him alive.

I was informed that his body was found floating in the river a few days after his disappearance. His funeral was duly arranged and executed as befitting an officer of his rank. This journal, along with his cap, was found on the end of the Quai des Ormes and delivered here by a gamin (name unknown).

France has lost a great officer.

A/N: well that's over... Thanks to everyone who read this!


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